Breakthrough points to major solar thermal potential

Scientists in Australia have set a world record which could help unlock the huge potential of solar thermal energy.

A team from The Australian National University (ANU) designed and built a new receiver for the solar concentrator dish at the university – capable of generating steam that could be used for power stations – and set a world record converting 97% of sunlight into steam.

The breakthrough could lead to the generation of cheaper base-load electricity from renewable energy and help lower carbon emissions which cause global warming.

“When our computer model told us the efficiency that our design was going to achieve, we thought it was alarmingly high,” said Dr John Pye, from the ANU Research School of Engineering.

“But when we built it and tested it, sure enough, the performance was amazing.”